Varaha Purana 97.4: Adhyaya 97, Shloka 4

The Glory of Rudra: The Origin of the Kapālamocana Pilgrimage Site and Rudra’s Expiatory Vow

Pūrva Bhāga · Rudra-māhātmya (head/pañcama and Atharva-mantra reference)

Devanagari script

जन्मतश्च शिरो यद्धि पञ्चमं तज्जगाद ह ॥ मन्त्रंाथर्वणं रुद्रो येन सद्यः प्रमुच्यते ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 97.4

Transliteration

janmataś ca śiro yaddhi pañcamaṃ taj jagāda ha || mantram ātharvaṇaṃ rudro yena sadyaḥ pramucyate ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

शिरसः सम्बन्धे तु पञ्चमं तदिति स जगाद। रुद्रोऽथर्वणं मन्त्रं प्रावोचत्, येन सद्य एव विमुच्यते॥

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Word by Word

• janmataḥ: from birth / by birth
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); adverbial ablative (हेतौ/कारणे)
• Role: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• śiraḥ: head
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)

• yat: which
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun (यत्-शब्द)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• hi: indeed / for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis/causal nuance
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: hi (अव्यय)

• pañcamam: fifth
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); ordinal adjective
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: pañcama (प्रातिपदिक)

• tat: that
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• jagāda: said / uttered
• Type: Verb
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: √gad (धातु)

• ha: indeed / (narrative particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Particle (निपात), narrative/expletive
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: ha (अव्यय)

• mantram: a mantra
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karma (कर्म)
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)

• ātharvaṇam: Atharvan (pertaining to Atharvaveda)
• Type: Adjective
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); adjective qualifying mantra
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Root: ātharvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• Type: Noun
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)

• yena: by which
• Type: Noun
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun
• Role: Karaṇa (करण)
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय)
• Role: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)

• pramucyate: is released / is freed
• Type: Verb
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), Passive sense (कर्मणि प्रयोग)
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Root: pra-√muc (धातु)

Sandhi Notes

• janmataś ca = janmataḥ + ca
• yaddhi = yat + hi
• tajjagāda = tat + jagāda
• mantram ātharvaṇam = mantram + ātharvaṇam (visarga/anusvāra sandhi in transmission)

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasaSetting: Mantra-upadeśa scene

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious, seeking release

What she asks

What is the ‘fifth’ principle regarding the head, and what Atharvanic mantra grants immediate release?

The teaching

Kind of teaching

Mantra-soteriology and subtle-body doctrine

Subjects

Ritual practiceMantra tradition (Atharva)Soteriology

Core idea

Mantra (especially Atharvanic) is portrayed as a direct liberative instrument; ‘head as fifth’ hints at a schema of principles/limbs where śiras is a culminating locus of power/identity.

In practice

Seek mantra through proper lineage/upadeśa, practice with discipline and purity; integrate doctrinal understanding (tattva) with recitation (japa).

The Varaha avatara

With the Earth

Varāha narrates Rudra’s teaching of an Atharvanic mantra; Bhū-devī is the recipient of the account.

Dharma

Vrata

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Mantra and Ritual
• Vedic Reception

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It shows Purāṇic incorporation of Vedic lineages (Atharva) into later devotional-ritual frameworks, indicating cross-textual authority building.

Which geographic location is identified?

No geographic location is mentioned.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Implicitly, it values disciplined recourse to authorized mantra traditions as a means of purification or release.